Serbia's Ambassador to the World

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Category Archives: Is Serbia Safe?

Yet Another American Girl Says Belgrade Is Amazing

Back in March, we wrote about a fascinating blog post written by an American girl that pointed out that Belgrade is a city which is alive with energy. It looks like we’ve got yet another blog post (yes, another) highlighting exactly the same thing — and this one coming from an American girl who is studying abroad in Serbia for one month. Here’s a short excerpt, but it’s worth reading Tori’s post entitled “First Days in Belgrade” in full:

My first few days in Belgrade have been nothing short of AMAZING! I have already seen and experienced so much. Honestly, I do not know why more tourists don’t visit this city. It has EVERYTHING! There are great cafes, wonderful people watching, and beautiful architecture. Belgrade is a perfect example of mixing the new with the old.

So, Wait, Is Serbia Good Or Bad?

This is South Wales (thisissouthwales.co.uk) has an excellent article entitled Sunny, smiling Serbia talking about Serbia… and preconceptions of Serbia. It looks like preconceptions of Serbia are likely to abound, but they remain only as long as you don’t pay a visit. Here’s a short excerpt, but it’s worth reading the whole thing:

I DON’T think I’ve ever been somewhere that has changed my preconceptions quite so much. In fact my visit to Serbia has left me feeling slightly guilty at judging a place so unfairly before I’d even been there.

My image of this Balkan state had been formed of television images of war in the former Yugoslavia in the mid 1990s and the Kosovan conflict in 1999. I left Belgrade after four nights in Serbia with a strong desire to return — before I’ve even decided what kind of holiday I want to have there. There seem to be so many options — active cycling or walking; sightseeing trips to the capital; family holidays along the famous Danube river; lively nightclub hopping in Belgrade.

American Woman Enjoying Serbian food & Belgrade

Sara Hughlett, a Peace Corps Volunteer from Virginia (U.S.A.), is teaching English in Romania. Sara spent recently two days in Belgrade, and put a lot of photos of Belgrade in her blog post. It looks like the American woman likes Serbian food “Best meal EVER,” she wrote, and Belgrade atmosphere. Well worth watching her photos of Belgrade. Click on the photo to go to Sara Hughlett’s gallery… And click again to enlarge.

From Philadelphia To Serbia – Novi Sad

In 2010 Catalina and Bryan McAnulty, CEO/Art Director at Velora Studios, a multimedia design and development company in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, USA), have decided to travel the world together. First country to visit: Serbia. Yes, Serbia! They spent two months in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second largest city, after Belgrade. Catalina wrote on her Twitter account that she will miss Serbia:

After 2 months in Novi Sad we are getting ready to leave Serbia. I will miss the laid back feeling of the city and the cool & friendly people

Catalina and Bryan are sharing some of the cool things they experienced in Serbia on their blog. Check it out!

Taking Children To Serbia (Yes, A Good Idea)

Awesome Canadian photographer Carey Nash traveled recently to Serbia with his wife Colleen, and his two young children (five month old and two year old). He wrote up a blog post that details just how amazingly Serbia appears to be for all the family. Here’s a short excerpt, but it’s worth reading the whole thing:

We only spent a total of 6 days in Serbia, visited three towns, and had a short stay in another while we waited for a bus but it was a trip that will always leave a great impression. One that will more than likely bring us back.

Why So Many Lies? The United States And Serbia

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (on behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States) congratulated the people of Serbia as they celebrated Serbia’s National Day this February 15. Hillary Clinton went on to say that “The United States and Serbia have a partnership based on mutual respect and built upon more than a hundred years of relations between our people and our governments.” I see this as a political statement. What is far more interesting is the ‘true’ story/history.

On February 15th (Serbia’s National Day), the WalesHome put up an article written by Royston Jones, a Welsh political activist, about Serbia’s history. It looks at the events that have shaped modern Serbian attitudes, and takes a closer look at “more than a hundred years of relations between U.S. governments and Serbia”. The story is fascinating, and I highly recommend listening to it. Here are two excerpts from the WalesHome article entitled Serbia: the shame of the West but you should read the whole thing:

As late as 1998 the US State Department had the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) listed as a terrorist organisation. The very same bunch of drug-traffickers and gun-runners whose leader Hashim Thaçi was then being lionised by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, with his gang promoted as freedom fighters, posing in front of the cameras and promising to go fight the Serbs. (Posing was what the KLA was best at, it did very little fighting.) And as we all know now, the KLA also ran a lucrative organ harvesting business from Serb civilians they kidnapped and butchered.

Why so many lies? Put quite simply, the West (again, mainly the US) had an agenda based on geopolitical considerations. The Soviet Union was breaking apart. The Cold War was over and Eastern Europe was in turmoil, with every Ivan and Istvan wanting to be a capitalist and to drive a Merc. The one remaining obstacle to the eastward advance of Western ideas (and goods) was perceived to be Yugoslavia led by Serbia, which despite the strained relationship under Tito, was now rediscovering older ties with its Orthodox cousins in Russia. Ergo Yugoslavia had to be dismembered and Serbia itself weakened.

He went on to say that contrary to what you might think, Serbs ‘these barbarians’ have fought in defence of their land and their people:

Given that on more than one occasion they have come close to total annihilation as a people, we should not be surprised that when threatened Serbs fight back with everything they’ve got. But their struggles have invariably been defensive. Whether fighting medieval Turks or 20th Century Germans the Serbs have fought in defence of their land and their people. It was the same in the 1990s when Yugoslavia was broken apart.

Why the West – yes, again the USA – chose to misrepresent the situation has been explained. The dismemberment of Yugoslavia, the support for Croat neo-fascists, Albanian gangsters, and possibly even foreign mujahideen who came to kill Serbs, is one of the most dishonourable chapters in recent Western history.

Again, don’t just read these excerpts, read the whole thing.

Serbia And The U.S.: Two Different Cultures?

Back in November, I wrote about how an American missionary called Taylor Morey Armstrong discovered Serbian hospitality while visiting the Serbian city of Novi Sad. Now another American young man is serving there, in Novi Sad, and put up an interesting (and funny) blog post talking about things he found fascinating or peculiar about Serbia. The ‘list’ is so good that I ended up including the whole thing, because it’s too good not to read — but check out Darren’s site directly:

1. Restaurant Culture: This one has yet to make sense to me. For some reason, Serbians LOVE to go to restaurants with friends and just order drinks. And that’s it. They never order food. It’s funny too because drinks here are twice as expensive as in the States, while food here is CHEAP. And when they order their drinks, they just sit there for hours and hours and sip away at their drink. It takes them an hour to finish a .5 liter of soda! Last week the Elder’s from Belgrade came down and we had lunch at Adriana’s, which is the best place in Serbia. As we were eating, we found out we were the only table of 20 or so that had food on our table. No one ordered food. That’s just what Serbians do I guess… Not what I would do, but whatever.
2. Beer: Beer here is almost as cheap as water. Price of a 2 L of Jelen Piva: 100 Dinars. Price of a 2 L of water: 80 Dinars. Price of messing up priorities in a society: priceless! Come on Serbia… That’s not good.
3. Bakeries: They plague this land like McDonald’s plagues America. They have bakeries every fifteen steps.
4. Plieskabica: Google it. Best food known to man. Take an American hamburger, and put it on steroids that make food more delicious. That’s how I would describe them.
5. Exchange rate: 1 USD = 75 RSD as of today. Boo ya!
6. Novi Sad Branch: a total of 6 active members. All of them over the age of 60.
7. Language: Serbians learn English far better than we learn Serbian. We have met many Serbians who speak English with little or no accents.
8. DVD: Three bucks a pop, enough said.
9. Zip-lock Baggies: They do not exist in Serbia. You will never find a zip-lock bad in this country. They don’t exist.
10. Tennis: It’s hard to imagine, but tennis is one of the biggest sports out here. You see many, many tennis courts throughout the city.
11. Cross Walks: Serbians don’t like being the first one to cross at an intersection. Whenever we come up to a crosswalk, we always go first. They always just stare at each other and hope someone else goes first. It’s hilarious to watch! I will have to film it one day.
12. Fast Food: Fast food restaurants here are bomb: McDonald’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut. I could say with confidence they taste better out here than in the States. They serve french friends in Pizza Hut!
13. Novi Sad: The literal translation for the city name is “new now”

Serbia Haunted By Ghosts

While Ghost Hunters mainly covers locations in the United States and sometimes Canada, Ghost Hunters International also covers locations throughout the world, including Serbia. The Ghost Hunters International team headed to Serbia for the first time to investigate the Petrovaradin fortress which is located in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second largest city, after Belgrade. Workers at the Petrovaradin fortress have reported footsteps, disembodied voices, and feelings of being watched. A couple of pieces of evidence were gathered from the investigation. It’s long, but it’s well worth watching Ghost Hunters International’s video/film entitled Petrovaradin, Serbia – Petrovaradin Fortress – Army of the Dead in full:

American Clown ‘Joe Mama’ Goes To Serbia

This documentary film follows Josef Arone, Joe Mama the clown from San Francisco, on one of his yearly trips to Serbia to spread joy and laughter. It shows Josef Arone’s experience in Serbia. Travel with Joe Mama around Serbia. From visiting the countryside, Serbian province of Kosovo, and the capital of Serbia, Belgrade. See Belgrade from the perspective of an American, and then witness Kosovo as Joe Mama made stops in Serb enclaves in Kosovo and Metohija, and performs circus to Kosovo Serb children. It’s long, but well worth watching/reading: